The interior of the S4 looks rather swish, butthose sports seats allude to its athletic potential

Back and front, sedan and wagon, the S4 looks good

Powered by a 3.0-litre supercharged engine, theAudi S4 has an all-wheel drive powertrain and iscoupled with manual or semi-automatic gearboxes

Ingolstadt, Germany — The approach is new, but the intent remains the same: high performance in a luxurious package.

Audi's
all-new S4 model will be launched at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, in both
sedan and wagon variants, and waves goodbye to the famed V8 powerplant.

The German car maker has ditched the 4.2-litre V8 engine from its go-fast S4 model, replacing it with a 3.0-litre supercharged V6 engine kicking out 245kW.

While
the engine may have dropped a couple of cylinders and lost displacement
with the introduction of this all-new model, Audi claims the new S4
(wagon and sedan) is both faster and more fuel efficient thanks to the
forced induction and direct fuel injection.

Using supercharging,
or "mechanical charging" as Audi calls it, alongside its FSI direct
injection system is "far superior to twin turbochargers, both in terms
of packaging and of starting performance and responsiveness".

Read between the lines in that excerpt from the press release and Audi is denigrating BMW's impressive 335i
which we have road tested, and which will be the Audi S4's main rival
(the BMW also uses a 3.0-litre 6-cylinder engine - albeit with twin
turbos instead of a single supercharger).

Based on the new Audi
A4 platform, the S4's advancements centre on the powerful new engine,
but upgraded sports suspension, stronger brakes, high traction tyres
and performance interior fittings such as sports seats and pedals add
to the S4's appeal.

Ingolstadt's new mean machine also has a few
subtle exterior upgrades, including large-ish 18-inch alloy wheel rims,
a lower ride height and ground effects body work.

Like all modern Audi products, the S4's front end has a stylish design with good attention to detail.

The
chrome single frame grille is flanked by boxy headlight lenses that
feature swooping LED driving lights that integrate around the projector
beam headlights.

Quad exhaust pipes and grey inserts add a bit of
sportiness to the car's back end and there's also the obligatory chrome
wing mirrors that denote Audi's high performance models.

The
3.0-litre (2,995cc) supercharged V6 engine flies in the face of
convention: almost all modern European engines with forced induction
today are turbocharged.

Even Mercedes and its performance partner AMG have begun switching from superchargers to turbochargers.

For Audi however, playing follow-the-leader is not part of its long-term game plan.

The new engine outputs 245kW (333hp) which is 5 kilowatts more than its biturbo BMW rival.

Using
a belt-driven supercharger that starts developing charge boost at idle,
the engine belts out 440Nm of torque @ 2500, and has a flat torque
curve all the way until 4850rpm and keeping the torque output constant.

The supercharger itself is small and Audi was able to place it in between the (90-degree vee) cylinder banks.

The
supercharger is plumbed to a pair of intercoolers ('charge air coolers'
in Audi lingo) and under full throttle and in ripe conditions, Audi
claims the S4 sedan will accelerate from zero to 100km/h in 5.1
seconds.

Power
is put to the ground via either a 6-speed manual transmission or a new
7-speed S tronic twin-clutch gearbox, and is transferred through all
four wheels thanks to Audi's proprietary quattro system.

While
the 7-speed semi-auto gearbox results in faster acceleration and
improved drivability in the city and commuter traffic, the manual will
still garner a few sales with performance die-hards who plan on
modifying the tantalising new intercooled six.

Though it can
trounce many other performance cars, the S4 can blend in to
the crowd which is an aspect of the vehicle that will appeal to more
mature drivers.

Called the 3.0 TFSI, the new engine provides the
S4 with excellent acceleration but one of the reasons Audi switched
from the 4.2-litre V8 to the 'charged 3.0-litre V6 was to meet future
emission restrictions and to reduce fuel economy.

Audi claims the
new S4 uses an average of 9.7 litres of fuel per 100km travelled, which
is quite low for a performance car of this capability, which can reach
speeds of up to 250km/h.

The new Audi S4 is a bold shift for the
German automaker, using a new type of engine to achieve high power and
fuel efficiency, and the move could reap big rewards for Audi.

Approaching its high performance sports cars from a different angle, Audi appears to have yet again set the trend.

Launching
at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, the new model is set for a European
launch in the first quarter of 2009, and is expected in Australia six
months after that.